4. Carver
four
carver
The tips of my fingers kept stroking my lips as I sat in front of my computer. I was supposed to be writing out an email, but instead, I kept trying to pick up hints of Max’s pussy.
Max’s untouched, tight, sweet pussy.
But this wasn’t just about sex or getting off. Or how watching her come had been hands down the most erotic thing I had ever witnessed in my forty-two years of living. Fuck no. This was about more than that.
“Sir.” My assistant knocked on my office door.
“Yes, Miss Bell,” I answered without bothering to look at her.
“Here are the keys you asked for, along with the original.” She walked over and set them on my desk. Since her evaluation, Nicole Bell had finally dropped the seductress act and thankfully was all business. “Are these for the new sheds in the back the contractors set up?” she asked, the curiosity in her voice crystal clear. I frowned.
“No,” I muttered, pretending my attention was on my computer. It was none of her business where the key was for. “Thank you for getting them done,” I droned on like I wasn’t chomping at the bit to get the key and slip it onto my own keyring. What I had done was risky. Crazy.
Something Harrison and Grant would not only disapprove of but surely commit me for.
I had no idea what had come over me. The only thing I could think about was being able to return to her place and how to make that happen. When Max was in the bathroom, changing into her uniform, I slipped her house key off her ring and right into my pocket. Now I just had to figure out how the hell to get it back to her.
“Of course. Also, Stan wanted me to let you know that housekeeping will be up here in thirty minutes,” she shared.
“Perfect.” I could feel the tension in my shoulders start to give way. I’d been counting down the minutes for the manager to let me know when Max would be heading up.
“If you needed help tidying up, I could?—“
“You can clock out, Miss Bell,” I cut her off because I was not going to risk her trying to misbehave once again.
“Thank you, Mr. Storm.” Her lips pursed before she turned around. “I’ll see you in the morning,” she called out, but I didn’t bother to respond. Not when my head was filled with nothing but Max.
Things had escalated quickly this morning. I’d been on cloud nine when I returned to the resort, only to find Harrison pissed the hell off I had taken so long and had forgotten to get everything I had promised.
Once I was sure she had left, I stood up and changed out of my suit and back into my athleisure wear. I had no idea why I was keeping up the charade. I should have just told her who I was.
She would understand, wouldn’t she? You really think so? a little voice in my head asked. I shut my eyes and breathed in through my nose, then I scowled. She thought I was an asshole. A boss jerk who was mean to everyone who came in contact with him. As much as it killed me, she wasn’t wrong.
I’d been a pain in the ass since this project at The Crown started. Who was I kidding? I was always difficult to deal with. As much as I hated lying, I needed more time. I needed to convince her, show her I was different when it came to her. There was something inside me that had come to life when I walked into that massage room three days ago.
Something I hadn’t known even existed in me that she had brought out. Something that was possessive and greedy for her. Obsessed. I ran my fingers through my hair and tugged at the strands. I needed a haircut, but doing that reminded me of just a few hours earlier when Max had her fingers in them, tugging as she came apart. A wolfish smile appeared on my face.
I am seriously fucked.
She was my employee, way too young, sweet, and innocent for me. Not to mention, she thought I was someone I wasn’t. There was no way this thing could end well, but fuck me if I wasn’t going to try, because there was no way I could imagine my life without her.
I stood and double-checked the app on my phone, making sure all the cameras were set up where they should be, before I slipped out of my office. It was wrong to watch her, but it was like I needed to. I had already ordered some of the same little cameras that were easy to hide anywhere you wanted so I could place them in her apartment. I’d definitely lost it. I headed to an empty office down the hall to wait. My entire body felt like it was on pins and needles waiting for Max to show up, and when she did, it felt like I couldn’t draw in a complete breath of air.
Then I saw her.
Max opened my office door, and I zoomed into the camera to get a better look at her face. Jesus, she was pretty. Max had tossed her hair up in a bun at the top of her head since we said goodbye. My fingers itched to snap the hair tie off and watch her wavy tresses fall down around her face.
She rolled in the cart and looked around the space with curiosity. For a moment, she didn’t move. She simply looked around the space. I wondered if somehow, she had figured me out. Did she know I was the same man she had called daddy earlier?
I had no idea what woman could be more perfect for me. With Max, there was no doubt she was mine. I just had to figure out how to talk her into it and let her know who I really was. She walked to the back of my desk, and when my eyes caught a picture frame I kept on the highest shelf, my stomach cramped in my gut.
“Shit,” I whispered.
It was a picture of my brothers and I on a hike up in Yosemite. The three of us had grown out our beards and were wearing sunglasses, but there would be no way to explain that to her if she recognized it. Thankfully, being her height, she didn’t pay any attention to it. Instead, she bent and picked up the trash, taking it to her rolling cart to discard it and add a new bag.
She got to work, and I couldn’t get myself to blink. Even watching her clean was fucking entertaining. Hell, if she asked me to watch grass grow next to her, I would be fascinated by every expression that played out on her face. She finished all too quickly, and I hated it. I didn’t want her to leave, but I knew she still had things to do.
Thankfully, we had set up a time to meet. I shut my eyes after she left and let my body relax. I hadn’t slept since I discovered she was one of my employees. With her on my mind, I fell asleep with a smile on my face. And thankfully, I was smart enough to set an alarm. When it rang, I got up and moved to set up a little surprise for my girl.
I paced from one tree to another for thirty minutes.
I had flowers in a vase and cookies and coffee waiting for us, but she still hadn’t shown up. It was a couple of minutes before eleven. It was still early, and who knew if she would be able to slip away? A noise caught my attention, making me stop dead in my tracks.
My heart felt like it was about to climb out of my chest. Why the hell had I asked her to meet me on the resort grounds? Anyone could walk by us and recognize me. It wasn’t like I was even trying to wear a disguise. I was simply out of my usual suit and tie that everyone was used to seeing me in. But all those worries and apprehension melted away as I noticed her coming closer. The moon was full and bright, casting her in a silvery light. I hurried towards her, and without thinking, I picked her up and swung her around. Her laughter clung to the air as she held on to me, hugging me back just as tightly.
“Fuck, I missed you,” I groaned, pressing my lips against her temple before pulling away.
“You did?” She looked straight at me, and it felt like she could see through me, right to the center of me, and somehow still liked what she saw. I nodded.
“I did,” I admitted. I was coming on strong and probably way too intense, but I couldn’t stop myself from being honest. Maybe it was because I was already lying about who I was or omitting the truth.
“It’s only been a couple of hours.” She blushed.
“A couple too many.” And fuck if that wasn’t the truth. I hated not having eyes on her in the laundry room. I was tempted to split the cameras I’d ordered so only half were set up at her apartment and the other half where she worked at the resort.
“You smell good,” she noted.
“I do?” She nodded just as I set her down. There was something about the way she looked at me that made me want to ask where that had come from, but she looked down at the picnic I had set up, and her eyes widened.
“Oh my god, you did this?” she gasped, and I nodded, slightly nervous. Was a picnic by the lake with cookies and coffee and flowers a cheesy thing to do? “This is… wow. No one has ever done anything like this for me.”
“Good.” I winked, taking her hand as we sat down on the picnic blanket. “These are for you.” I handed her the daisies. She looked at them, and her eyes softened.
“They’re beautiful.” She smiled down at them with appreciation reflecting in her gaze. I had a feeling she would have been just as impressed whether it were diamond earrings or a balloon. Max was so many things. Sweet, kind, and humble. Hardworking, dedicated, and loyal. But most of all, she was mine.
“They reminded me of you. Happy and sweet,” I shared before taking her hand in mine. My eyes dropped to our fingers, the contrast of our light and dark skin beautiful and alluring. “How’s work been?” I asked, gazing back up at her. A breeze picked up, and I tucked a stray hair behind her ear. She leaned into my touch. I fucking loved how easily that came to her. Like she knew she was mine and I was hers. I’d been more than prepared to work hard to break down whatever walls she had set around her and crack whatever shells she might have had. But I didn’t have to do that. Our souls recognized one another’s on a deeper level.
“It’s been okay. Not too bad.” She shrugged. I might not have known her very well, but I knew she wasn’t the type to complain about much.
“How was cleaning the boss’ office? He behave?” I asked, digging myself deeper into this mistaken identity shit I had stupidly put myself into.
“He wasn’t there, thankfully.” She smiled, but I bit the inside of my cheek. I hated how apprehensive she sounded about meeting me. The real me. I knew how stupid that sounded. If she met me, this whole thing would be over. I was almost positive she would run away from me.
“This is one of my favorite spots of the resort.” Her words snapped me out of my momentary freakout.
“Really?” I looked around, loving that we had that in common.
“Oh, for sure. Top three.” She grinned, and I couldn’t help myself. I needed her closer. Max’s eyes widened, but when she figured out what I was up to, I felt her body relax, letting me settle us closer.
I shifted our bodies, widening my legs to fit her body between mine. Her front pressed against mine while the two of us looked out onto the lake. The bright moonlight reflected against the water, making it look like a pool of glitter and sparkles. Everything around us looked ethereal. Like a whole other world. It was easy to forget who I was and who I wasn’t. I held her close and breathed in her soft feminine scent, not wanting the moment to end.
“Did you eat?” I asked. She made a sound I knew was to appeases me. “Baby, you gotta take care of yourself.”
“I’ll make a PB and J when I get home.” Home. My teeth grinded down. She wouldn’t be home for at least another four hours. She’d gone in early to help housekeeping, something I had been responsible for. I should have thought ahead. She is mine. If I am claiming her, I need to watch over her a hell of a lot better than this. This was something that wouldn’t be repeated. Max was mine, and I took care of what belonged to me. My girl needed to eat three meals a day.
“I should have brought you something,” I muttered, and she simply gave me more of her weight.
“You know you don’t have to take care of me,” she whispered into the night air, and I held her closer. She turned around, and when our eyes connected, I could have sworn our hearts spoke to one another. “I’ve been taking care of myself for a while now, honey.”
“And you’ve done a great job, baby, you have. But now, I get to take that on. I want to be the one who takes care of you.” I kissed her temple, meaning every single word.
I’d never felt this for anyone. Not even for my brothers. Sure, I’d taken care of them and made sure they didn’t get in trouble, but it wasn’t anything like I felt for Max. My sweet girl was mine. Mine to love and cherish. Worship and protect with my life if I had to. I reached for a cookie.
“Daddy shouldn’t be giving you sweets when you haven’t eaten a proper meal, but it’s better than nothing.” I could make out the blush on her cheeks before she took it from my hand and settled her body back against my chest.
“Cookies,” she whispered happily. “Oh my god,” she moaned, making my dick take notice. Not that it hadn’t before this. The beast between my legs didn’t miss a beat when it came to anything Max did.
“These are my favorite. Did you get the from the kitchen at the resort?” I licked my lips
“Yeah,” I rasped, hoping it somehow didn’t give me away.
“Those are incredible. I love that they have walnuts in them.” She sighed happily, polishing off the sweet treat.
“I have a baggie of them for you to take. How much time do we have?”
“I told Oli I was going on my lunch break, so”—she took her phone out and sighed—“ten more minutes.” Ten minutes. Shit. It was nowhere close to how much time I wanted with her. Who the fuck was I kidding? I was a selfish greedy bastard. If it were up to me, I would want all her time. There wouldn’t be a minute I’d lose.
“Do you want me to start walking you now—“ I started to offer, but the words died on my tongue when surprised me.
My girl took initiative, turning her body and straddling me, sitting her cute ass on my lap. Her delicate hands rested on my shoulders while her thighs draped over mine. In this position, we were eye level, not to mention how perfectly it lined our bodies up. I could feel the heat of her untouched pussy against my hard length. I was a forty-two-year-old man. I should have had a better grasp on my self-control, but Max tethered it. She made it hard for me to concentrate on anything but her.
“Thank you for tonight,” she whispered before leaning forward and kissing my cheek.
She didn’t need to thank me for a damn thing. If anything, I was the one choked up with gratitude in that moment. So much I couldn’t get more than a grunt out. Her eyes sparkled, and I couldn’t help but lean forward and press our lips together. I’d meant it to be sweet and soft, but I was starting to realize very quickly that things easily got out of hand with Max.
Lips danced, teeth scraped, and hands roamed, but despite having nothing but good intentions of keeping things innocent, she had other ideas. Max’s naughty, little seductive hips started to roll against me. Stroking my length back and forth.
“Max,” I groaned, slightly tortured. “Not here,” I rasped, wanting to shut the fuck up all at the same time.
“Why?” she whimpered, pulling away.
Just looking at her made it hard for me to string words together. Her cheeks were rosy and lips plump and swollen from my mouth. She looked like she had been thoroughly kissed, and I fucking loved it. I wanted to mark her. My eyes dropped to her hand on my shoulder, and I could easily picture a ring on her finger. My ring.
If we did any more, my girl might end up losing her virginity right there on the wet grass in front of the sparkling lake where anyone could see.
“Baby, we don’t need to rush this.” I swallowed, my cock protesting with every syllable
“You’re not. I want to.”
“Jesus, you’re killing me, baby girl.” Her dark eyes twinkled with mischief. My innocent sweetness seemed to have a bit of a naughty side, and damn if that didn’t make me even harder. “Max, I can’t risk anyone seeing you.” I brushed the wavy strands that had fallen out of her bun behind her ears. “When,” I rasped, “not if.” Because we were inevitable. “But when I take that pretty little cherry you saved so sweetly for me, I won’t have anyone around us for miles,” I darkly shared, my voice scratchy in my own ears. “I would never risk anyone hearing one of your soft little moans, much less see you. You’re mine, Max. All mine.”
“Car—“
“I know I’m coming off strong,” I laid out, “but you have to know where I stand.” I needed her to know I meant every word.
“You don’t play games,” she whispered, and if I wasn’t wrong, I could almost see some relief in her eyes. “Or is it…” she hesitated, and I knew I wouldn’t like what she was about to say. “Is the real reason you don’t want to do anything more because you’re actually worried about someone seeing you with me?”
“What?” My brows immediately bunched, and eyes narrowed.
“I just… You don’t have a wife and kids at home, or a bunch of girlfriends all over town, or maybe the towns by Moonlit Pines?”
“Not even close. I’m forty-two, beautiful. I’m a grown man who knows himself and what he likes and, more importantly, what he wants.”
“And you want me?” she asked, the vulnerability clear in her voice.
“I do.” I swallowed. “In keeping with being honest even if this makes me a freaking red flag, that’s what you kids call it now, right?”
“You kids?” Her lips twitched, and her eyes shined with amusement.
“I haven’t been in a relationship for longer than I want to admit. I’ve been busy working and building my business, taking care of my brothers.”
“Your brothers?” Her lips twitched again. “Are they younger?”
“Yes, but not like you think. They don’t know how to act their age, just their shoe size.” I sighed. “It’s not an excuse. That being said,” I paused because now I worried I was being a little too honest. “I haven’t been a choir boy, Max.”
“I wasn’t expecting you to be,” she responded sweetly, making me fall harder and deeper. “We all have a past.” She shrugged. “And maybe in our case, it’s a good thing one of us knows what to do,” she teased lightly, but my dick didn’t get the joke. It yearned to get inside of her and show her exactly what could be done. To be her first and only.
“Max,” I growled. My hand tightened around the back of her head.
“It was a joke,” she whispered, stealing a kiss before pulling back. “And in case you were wondering, I like you, too,” she shared. My forehead pressed against hers, and I breathed deeply. Her scent mixed with the fresh water from the lake in a way I knew would be ingrained in my head for the rest of my life. A scent I would crave.
“I wish I could keep you here all night.” I sighed.
“I wish that, too.” Her smile was soft and shy, but it was in her eyes I could see how torn she was. She needed to get back to work but didn’t want to leave.
“Can I stop by and bring you breakfast in the morning tomorrow?” Her gaze brightened, and she nodded.
“I’d like that.”
“Okay,” I sighed. “Time to get you back to work, pretty girl,” I said even though I didn’t want to.
“Okay,” she whispered before pressing her lips against mine one more time.
We got up, and I walked her to the laundry building and waved goodbye before making my way to my office. I got to my desk and sat down in my chair and looked out the big floor-to-ceiling glass wall that overlooked the lake. It was the same view she had from her apartment, and I knew that no matter what happened, right or wrong, I would never be able to look at it without thinking about our time out there.
My eyes landed on the keys my assistant had left. I took one of the new ones and the original. I had to figure out a way to return it to her without her thinking it was taken. An idea formed, and everything inside of me flared to life.
Max was going to be working for at least another three hours. I could go over there and leave the old banged-up key right on top of her welcome mat. Almost like that was where it had perhaps fallen? And while I was there, I didn’t see what the harm of looking around her place might be, and if I placed a couple of cameras in her space, who would know?
With that settled, I hurried, taking my car straight into town.